When I was young going to a concert was something very special. First, because there weren’t that many concerts in Portugal at the time and second, because it made me feel like taking part of something unique.
When I was young people attending concerts were there to live the experience, even if they weren’t absolutely thrilled by the band. They would listen, clap and respect the artists and those around them who were really digging the show.
When I was young there were small flames coming from lighters, which would enrapture the venue at the very the first chords of a ballad.
Years went by, I’m no longer that young, and now a concert is just another thing to put in a monthly to do list. It’s no longer unique because bands come here all the time and mainly because a concert is now a social event. Few go to see a band for what it is while more and more go because it’s supposed to; more and more don’t respect the artists or those who really want to see the concert and simply stand there talking to their friends and grabbing a beer; more and more watch the concert through the screen of their cell phones, because better than being there is showing others where they are, thereby gaining virtual recognition.
It saddens me as I’m confronted by the evidence that we are building a society based on things that don’t exist beyond an electronic device. A society that doesn’t know how to enjoy a moment for what that moment is, rather living the moment for what it can project before an illusory audience.
I stopped going to the movies because I couldn’t stand the noise of people eating popcorn and chatting like they were in a coffee shop the whole time. Maybe I must stop going to concerts too and thus avoid the sad show of thousand of people updating their virtual status with pictures and videos captured seconds before. A show where I can’t catch a glimpse of a single flame twinkling in the dark, except for brief moments when someone is lighting a cigarette.
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